Design wheel assembly for circular knitting machine



P. JOSEPH Nov. 17, 1970 DESIGN WHEEL ASSEMBLY FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MAEHINE Filed April 16. 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet l P. JOSEPH Nov. 17, 1970 DESIGN WHEEL ASSEMBLY FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 16, 1968 ,2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 2

United States Patent 3,540,236 DESIGN WHEEL ASSEMBLY FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Pierre Joseph, Chambrelien, Switzerland, assignor to Ed Dubied & Cie S.A., Neuchatel, Switzerland, a company Filed Apr. 16, 1968, Ser. No. 721,842

Claims priority, application Switzerland, Apr. 20, 1967,

5,669/ 67 Int. Cl. D04b /74 U.S. Cl. 66-50 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention is concerned with a design wheel assembly for a circular knitting machine. The assembly cooperates with a common endless sorting tape for sorting according to a design, and the assembly has selectors housed in the wheel, which, after sorting, are automatically moved from their inoperative position to their work position for actuating knitting tools (needle and key combinations) to be selected, and which are then either locked in this position for repeating at any frequency the stored design, or again moved to their starting position by driving means. The driving means are movable along a central axis, and each carries a finger which is used to move its corresponding driving means. The driving means are guided against radial movement, and slide between the central axis and the hollow part of a bell, which is fixed on the design wheel; and they are guided against circumferential movement by slides parallel to the axis.

Already known are design wheels cooperating with a common endless sorting tape in which the movable driving means bear on the cylindrical surfaces of the design Wheel shaft and are guided in their movement by sliders which slide in grooves made in said shaft (Swiss Pat. No. 264,568, or Great Britain Pat. 689,232, FIG. 6). In addition to its high fabrication cost, this arrangement has the drawback of requiring a shaft of large diameter in order to limit the play of the driving means around their sliders. That is, both the amount of necessary play be tween the surface of the driver and that of the shaft, and the angle of play of the driver, diminish with the increase of diameter of the shaft, and, owing to this fact, the assurance of a correct selection increases. Another drawback of this solution is that the guiding grooves of the sliders wear rapidly so that the amount of play increases, interfering with the safety of the selection. There also,

a shaft of large diameter decreases this unwanted effect.

The selectors are bent, the inner edge of the bend is a ramp of about When they go down to their starting position, the drivers by pressing on this ramp, push the selectors toward the outside in a position where they are ready for a new sorting. Because of this bend, the diameter formed by the selectors at the place of contact with the sorting tape is still greater (FIG. 1 of the cited patent), the volume of the design wheel is thus large.

It is known that on circular Jacquard knitting machines the wheels are distributed around the cylinder, the number of wheels is thus determined by the circumference of the cylinder and the volume of each wheel. The production of the machine increases in proportion to the increase in number of knitting posts each of which is provided with at least one design wheel.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a design wheel having a reduced volume, that is to say having a reduced diameter, in order to be able to lodge more wheels around the cylinder so as to increase the production of the knitting machine.

Another object of theinvention is to replace the grooves by other guiding surfaces less likely to wear.

The design wheel according to the invention is charac terized by the fact that the drivers are guided, on the one hand between the central shaft and the hollow of a bell, the latter being fast on the wheel, and on the other hand by slides parallel to the shaft.

It is also characterized by the fact that the body of the driver is guided slidingly between said hollow and the shaft. The accompanying drawing represents by way of example one design wheel assembly according to the invention.

FIG. 1 shows lengthwise a vertical cross section of a design wheel.

FIG. 2 shows partially in cross section guiding of the drivers.

FIG. 3 shows a cross section along IIIIII of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 shows a modification of the guiding.

FIG. 5 shows a second modification of the guiding.

Cylinder 1, a needle 2, as well as the cam holder 3 are only shown partially in the cross section of FIG. 1, each key 4 is attached to a needle and can oscillate around its securing point. It can be located selectively in a position advanced toward the cam holder, in such a way that it is driven in an ascending movement through its heel 5 which bears on ascending cam 6 or in a position embedded inside the cylinder. In this case, the heel no longer emerges enough to be seized by cam 6, but is nevertheless supported by a bridge 7, in this fashion the knitting tool is maintained at a certain height, but it does not knit. Before passing in front of design wheeI 8, all the keys are aligned in their forward position by means of a fixed cam (not shown).

The design wheel is provided with a given number of selectors 9 which are sorted by an endless tape 10 and according to whether their nose 11 meets a full or perforated part of the tape are pushed toward the inside of the design wheel or left outside.

The selectors which are pushed toward the interior are drawn in full lines on the left side of the wheel and are threaded with their hook 12 in the recess 14 of driver 13.

When this latter is moved from its inoperative position as drawn on the left side, toward its working position, as shown on the right side, it drives selectors whose hook is located in its hollow by pushing them by cone 15. These selectors 9 are thus moved into their working position (right side, drawn in full lines). Their heads 16 are pushed by the fixed eccentric washer 17 against the cylinder. These heads strike against keys which are in a forward position and embed them inside the cylinder. Selectors 9 which have remained in their inoperative position (right side, drawn in dotted lines) do not enter into contact with washer 17 and remain inside the design wheel. The corresponding keys remain in advanced position and will be raised when their heel encounters cam 6.

Drivers 13 are controlled in their movement along central shaft 18 *by circular cam 19. This cam is equipped with movable tongues (not shown) in such a way that at least two different paths 20 can be dictated to fingers 21. Each driver is rigid with such a finger.

The described functions and members are known and described in greater detail in Swiss Pats. 264,568, 237,611 and 408,4270, which correspond respectively to Great Britain Pat. 689,232, US. Pat. 2,611,253, and US. Pat. 3,225,567.

As already indicated, the diameter of drivers 13 determines the diameter of the design wheels. In order to increase the number of wheels placed around the cylinder, there must be provided drivers of reduced diameter. It is understandable that the distance between the hooks 12 of selectors 9 decreases with the decrease in diameter. The reproduction of a design is correct only if each driver dispatches the selectors ascribed to it. If a hook moves in the direction of its thickness and/ or if the drivers have an excessive lateral play, a hook, located at the limit between two drivers can go into the slit between two adjacent drivers and block their movement, which would occasion harm to certain parts. In order to ensure hooking at the right place, there is provided on the one hand grooves '22 which are rather deep, selectors having a substantial width and a reduced play of the latter in the grooves, in order to reduce to a maximum the play of the hooks in the direction of their width. On the other hand, the lateral play of drivers 13 (FIGS. 2 and 3) is reduced by providing strong guidance by applying their face 23 against hollow 24 of a bell 25 and their face 26 against central shaft 18. Between the different sides sliding one on the other there is minimum play guaranteeing to the drivers a movement Without excessive braking. It is advantageous that the hollow of the bell is cylindrical and concentric with the shaft, the faces 23, 26 of the corresponding drivers will consequently be also cylindrical and concentric. Nevertheless, the guiding surfaces of different shape such as for example eagle tails between the hollow of the bell and the drivers are possible (FIG. 4).

The guides described (FIGS. 2, 3 and avoid all excessive play but do not prevent angular movement of the drivers relative to the shaft. It is necessary to provide slides parallel to it which guide drivers without angular play. In order to do so, the part connecting each driver 13- to its finger 21 is formed of a slider piece 27 sliding almost without play in a slot 28, parallel to the shaft and in a given position relative to selectors 9. There are as many slides as drivers and they are made in the wall of bell 25.

In the modification shown in FIG..5, the part connecting the driver to the finger does not touch bell 25; groove 29, ensuring angular position, is made in the driver, and slider 30, fastened in the shaft, can be a cylindrical piece or a key. There are as many sliders as drivers and each of the latter has a slide.

In the modification of FIG. 4, guiding is ensured by sliders 31 which move in axial grooves in the bell 25.

The design wheels are rotated by a toothed wheel 32, fast on the cylinder, and meshing with pinions 33. Each design wheel has such a pinion and a bell which are rigid therebetween and with their common shaft.

In a practical embodiment according to the invention, it was possible to reduce the diameter of cone 15 by a half and the maximum diameter of the design wheel is only 65% of the usual, the number of wheels as well as the production of the machine was therefore 1.5 greater.

It is evident that the same wheels, suitably modified, can be used for the selection of the knitting tools of the tray.

What is claimed is:

1. A design wheel assembly for a circular knitting machine comprising a wheel body, selectors housed in the wheel body and adapted to be moved automatically from an inoperative position to a work position to actuate knitting tools to be selected and which are then locked in a given position in order to repeat at any frequency a stored design, or again moved to their starting position, driving means for moving said selectors, a central shaft along which said drivers are movable, a finger carried by each of said drivers for sliding said selectors along said shaft, a hollow bell integral with said wheel body, said drive means being slidably guided against radial movement between said central shaft and said bell, and slide means parallel to said shaft for slidably guiding said drivers against circumferential movement on said shaft.

2. An assembly according to claim 1, in which said slide means parallel to said shaft comprise axial grooves in said bell for slidably guiding said drivers.

3. An assembly according to claim 1, in which said slide means comprise axial slots in said bell for slidably guiding said fingers.

4. An assembly according to claim 2, wherein each driver is provided with sliders guided in the grooves of said bell.

5. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein said bell has a cylindrical hollow concentric with said shaft.

6. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein the respective guiding surfaces of said drivers, which contact the bell and the shaft are cylindrical and mutually concentric.

7. An assembly according to claim 1, in which said slide means comprises a slider secured on said shaft for movement in a groove in said driver.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,611,253 9/1952 Diem. 2,900,837 8/ 1959 Brandt 66l56 XR 3.4l6,332 12/1968 Joseph.

FOREIGN PATENTS 982,060 2/1965 Great Britain.

WM. CARTER REYNOLDS, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

